The paper examines the latest research into factors behind changes in the functional distribution of incomes, or the relationship between the share of wages and profits in GDP. The author describes the key determinants of theoretical and empirical research and explains why interest in these issues has increased in recent years in both Poland and elsewhere. The second part of the paper discusses the most controversial issues linked with the definition and measurement of the share of wages and profits in GDP, while part three focuses on general historic trends linked with the distribution of profits and wages. Part four discusses the results of the latest econometric research that takes into account the role of globalization and technological progress. Part five is dedicated to research dealing with capital-labor substitution, which is important from the perspective of theoretical debates in contemporary macroeconomics. The author concludes that future research into the distribution of profits and wages should cover countries with a medium and low level of development.